Rip City Project
Fansided

A conversation with TRILLBLAZIN’s co-founder, Keith Kunis

By Spencer Wu

PORTLAND, OR - FEBRUARY 11: The downtown skyline shimmers in a reflection in the Willamette River on February 11, 2012 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by George Rose/Getty Images)
PORTLAND, OR - FEBRUARY 11: The downtown skyline shimmers in a reflection in the Willamette River on February 11, 2012 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by George Rose/Getty Images) /
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TRILLBLAZIN is a local streetwear company perfectly positioned at the crossroads of sports, culture and lifestyle.

In the Rose City, where basketball fandom and fashion expression intersect, a brand such as TRILLBLAZIN can definitely flourish and find its niche.

As such, we discussed the brand’s origin, growth and outreach with co-founder Keith Kunis.

Portland/Blazers Roots

Started by co-founders Kunis and Ira LaFontaine, TRILLBLAZIN sells an assortment of Blazers-related apparel, including shirts, hats, hoodies and more. Recently, they added a new art director, Spencer Groshong, to the team to handle the creative side of the business.

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“We got started during the Mo Williams-Blazers era,” Kunis said. “We like to describe ourselves as a Rasheed Wallace parody account that really likes streetwear.”

It was just two dedicated “Jail Blazers” fans at first, Kunis said. Then they added Groshong.

“We needed somebody with actual design skills,” Kunis said. “So we found the best signmaker at the (Moda Center), here we are today.”

TRILLBLAZIN’S clothing encompasses the ideal of Portland rather than just the run-of-the-mill Trail Blazers-branded gear. It definitely prioritizes creativity and expressiveness, sometimes over the actual sports memorabilia.

A PDX Twist

“Most fan apparel is generic and meant for the masses,” Kunis said. “We saw an opportunity to combine our love for streetwear and niche culture with the absurdity of fandom.”

Kunis said his personal favorite is the “Ball Don’t Lie” dad hat.

“I have it tatted on my arm,” he said, adding that it’s the most popular among fans. “We started the whole TRILLARD movement back in 2014. We’ve reprinted and made a lot of versions of that tee. It was a smash hit that was getting faked on a whole bunch of big basketball sites. The BDL dad hat and our latest ‘Red Head’ tee kill it. ‘Red Head’ has exploded in a lot of different communities (and is) probably going to claim the top spot if it hasn’t already.”

Even though the brand is a local hit and sold in a variety of consignment stores around Portland, including Unspoken and Compound Gallery, it primarily focuses on a direct-to-customer business model through the TRILLBLAZIN website. They have also worked with the Portland Trail Blazers for their “Shirt of the Game” series and Index, another neighborhood sneaker shop.

“We’re in the mix,” Kunis said. “We’re not trying to be up all high and hard to reach. We work — folding, bagging and shipping our stuff. We move fast, too. We always respond to emails and handle everything ourselves. Occasionally, you’ll find us in other spots, and we have a couple things coming up this season. With Index, they’re so dope and do so much for the community. Tee and Mikey are (from) our same era, and they just get it. With the Blazers, it’s dope that they’re willing to work with local brands like us.”

Worldwide Appeal

TRILLBLAZIN isn’t just a local fad, however; it has transcended regular clothing store status and almost adopted a personality of its own, generating international attention and support from celebrities.

For example, Emmy-nominated comedian Ian Karmel donned the first ever TRILLBLAZIN shirt, and the brand is even recognized in Europe, as Kunis and LaFontaine gifted Jusuf Nurkic with “Bosnian Beast” shirts to give to friends and family back in his home country of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

https://www.instagram.com/p/suuZdvBRm-/

Kunis said TRILLBLAZIN’S greatest accomplishment is “putting a billboard outside of the Rose Garden arena asking LeBron James to be Dame’s third option and LeBron getting asked about it.”

“That was a great moment,” Kunis said. “We recognize opportunities to engage our audience and fans of the Blazers that might not be fans of TRILLBLAZIN.”

“Post Malone (complimented) our friend on his TRILLBLAZIN tee at Coachella, and a fan wearing the ‘Ball Don’t Lie’ dad hat after his show at the Roseland,” Kunis said.

Online Presents <– On Purpose

Considering today’s streetwear climate is largely rooted in customer interaction, it is appropriate for Kunis and LaFontaine to prioritize outreach and fan retention. They specialize in engaging with the Portland community and interacting with fans, and TRILLBLAZIN’s “character” is most apparent on social media.

“We mix in a lot of personality into our social channels because we don’t want it to be boring,” Kunis said. “We do a lot of Blazer mood on Instagram, (which) has our biggest following. On Twitter, we stay super active on trending topics, especially those around basketball and streetwear. Fire tweets, verified now.”

In Case You Missed It

They even host annual fashion exchange events and partner with some of the biggest names in the streetwear industry. For example, they hosted two events with Unspoken: an NBA x Nike event for the launch of the new partnership and an “It Must Have Been the Roses” 1977 championship celebration. Coming up this Sept. 1, the crew will be hosting it’s fifth annual ICYMI event, Portland’s premier buy/sell/trade event.

“It started with sneaker,” Kunis said. “But we’ve added in more brands and streetwear vintage resellers to the event. There’s a community here for these things, and we just want to help put them on as best we can. These events are always crazy — sneaker collectors coming out, hard to find Supreme items, and people like Laundry bringing top-tier vintage finds.”

Blazers have done great in past rookie surveys. dark. Next

As for what the future has in store for this store, hype-friendly fans will be excited to hear that this Portland staple will stay red-hot and rolling.

“(The) NBA offseason is usually our slow period and almost a break for us, but we’ve been getting the bag all summer long,” Kunis said. “We’ve got a lot of dope collaborations coming up, most immediately with Red Bull Music and their Portland event going down … at the Evergreen and a charitable effort with Portugal. The Man … during their sold out shows at Edgefield.”